Students come top of the class in regional contest

Four teenage girls from the Matlock school were the proud winners of the annual year ten mathematics challenge organised by St Mary’s School in Chesterfield.

Lucy Atkinson, Jess Broomfield, Sally Fowles and Lydia King were chosen to represent Highfields and compete against six other teams.

After a gruelling two hours of team challenges, logic puzzles and a relay race that required problem solving under pressure, Highfields had a clear lead with 131 points.

Teams from Springwell School achieved second and third place with 112 and 110 points. 

Maths teacher and head of year ten, Alison Ruston, said, “I am immensely proud of our Highfields maths team.

“These girls all performed brilliantly under pressure.

“They really showed a healthy competitiveness and enthusiasm for solving maths problems.

“This will stand them in very good stead as they approach their GCSE studies and reflects the high standard of maths that we see so much of at Highfields.” 

Highfields works hard to promote STEM subjects which are science, technology, engineering and maths.

In January, year nine students took a trip to the Rolls Royce headqurters in Derby, to learn about the skills required and discover career opportunities in these areas – specifically engineering.

Maths has been the most popular A-level subject at Highfields for the past ten years.

Former students are currently studying maths at a number of universities around the country including at Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Warwick. 

It has always been linked with subjects like physics and computer science, but it is increasingly being studied in combination with other subjects at degree level, like German, economics and music.